S9+ Headphones are terrible

[3Athlete]

Flat sound signature I am not surprised to find from a company that comes from an audio engineering background. Not a profile I am unaccustomed to coming from SennHD595 and ATH IM50s. The thing with all these is that they come flat but all Eq really well to suit your individual tastes. I opened a song called 'famous by Fareoh' and with some Eq in VLC you can get your bass. I do switch between profiles since metal, Rock, classical, folk, tropical house all have pretty distinct sound profiles and need different tuning for me to enjoy. A purist I am not that enjoys a flat signature in all music I listen to.

In the end I am pleasantly surprised with the sound these guys put out. If I want higher end sound from earbuds/IEMs, I'm going to get Senn IE 80s but not a chance would I expect anything more than what these do from buds that are bundled with a phone that are worth maybe 80CAD on their own. i got lucky and the medium tips that come installed fit my ears as is. On my IM50s I have comply foam tips and they definitely took some getting used to but imo were with the adaptation period. With these guys if they make it into regular user I'll keep the stock tips.

 

[strikeIII]

I find them to be good for what they are. For my morning commute they do just fine. Bass on mine sound good enough. You have to make sure they are INSIDE your ear properly. Who knows maybe the OP got a lemon. I use a higher quality pair when I want even better sound.

 

[callihan_44]

i tried the ones that came in the box and compared them to some old skull candy ones i have, the skull candy blew the akg's away ...oh well i rarely use the ones that come with the phone and have a pile of them in a drawer

 

[Keeptechcoolandsimple]

again... i will never complain about freebies in the box. i wish more phone's com with freebies in the box

 

[LeoRex]

S9 is like the only premium smartphone with a headphone jack, so let's not complain.

The V30 does exist, remember.. not only does it also have a jack, the audio coming out of that jack is orders of magnitude better.

 

[paulwilko10]

Get a set of Comply foam tips

Didn't even know they existed lol

Will look into these, thanks

 

[3Athlete]

Be aware that to get a good fit with the comply tips you'll need to squish the tips down to get a good seal with no sound leakage. They'll take some getting used to but it's worth it imo

 

[CKwik240]

Be aware that to get a good fit with the comply tips you'll need to squish the tips down to get a good seal with no sound leakage. They'll take some getting used to but it's worth it imo

I'm aware of how to use them. They work like foam ear plugs. But there is a reason I don't use those for riding either. When you roll up foam ear plugs, if they get folded a little in the process, it can allow a very small "crack" to exist after the foam expands. This allows high frequency noise into the ear. This is extremely uncomfortable when it comes to in helmet wind noise and can very much cause hearing damage. I realize my situation is somewhat unique to riders, but having tested various ear buds and seals has allowed me to find really good noise blocking set ups which have led to really good audio fidelity.

I actually had a pair of different AKG buds that I bought at the airport as I forgot mine and they used the exact same seals these do. I could actually get those to seal as they didn't have such a wide base behind the seals and could be shoved in a little deeper. Problem was because the attachment for the seal is so wide it started to put a lot of pressure on my ear canal, which became somewhat painful. The Shure ear buds use a very narrow tube that the seal attaches to. Downside there is it can be a little weak and I actually had one break off. The company replaced it for free under warranty (the buds can detach from the wire so they just replaced the one side).

 

[tadpoles]

I'm going to do a comparison with the Samsung-AKG ear buds, some older Samsung earbuds (white ones, circa Note 5), some old-style Sony earbuds (circa XZ1), some Blackberry buds, and Apple earbuds.

The "AKG" earbuds sound fine with deep bass response, articulate mids, and clear natural highs. They sound quite nice for included ear buds to me.

The older Samsung earbuds don't sound as nice to me as the "AKG" ones. Bass isn't as deep and the mids and highs just sound average. This is the kind of sound I expected. They don't sound bad, just unremarkable.

The Sony earbuds? Even less bass. Mids and highs sound clear though. I listen to EDM, rock, with a very very light sprinkling of rap. These earbuds would not be fun for my musical tastes.

The Blackberry earphones have these nice flanges on them to help keep them in place in your ears. I could workout with these. They sound better than the Sony's but are unremarkable sounding too. Perhaps I shouldn't have listened to the Samsung-AKGs first. These Blackberrys also leave me wanting.

The Apple ear buds sound very nice...after listening to the Sony and Blackberry, especially. Bass is deep, mids are articulate, and highs are crisp, yet non-fatiguing. These sound more like the Samsung-AKG which is to say they sound good for my musical tastes. They also happen to be quite comfortable and require no readjustments like I fear the Samsung-AKGs might. Wow who knew?

If I had to choose a daily driver it'd be the Apple earbuds due to good sound and fit with the Samsung AKGs right behind but both sound nice to me.

 

[rushmore]

i tried the ones that came in the box and compared them to some old skull candy ones i have, the skull candy blew the akg's away ...oh well i rarely use the ones that come with the phone and have a pile of them in a drawer

Maybe a fit issue? I find them to sound good and have Klipsch and Bose to compare to. Do they sound as good as those? No, but sound good and in no stretch sound turribul.

 

[callihan_44]

Maybe a fit issue? I find them to sound good and have Klipsch and Bose to compare to. Do they sound as good as those? No, but sound good and in no stretch sound turribul.

much deeper sound, an old school comparison would be skull candy version i have= 12" woofer in each ear....akg's= 6" woofer in each ear

 

[tadpoles]

much deeper sound, an old school comparison would be skull candy version i have= 12" woofer in each ear....akg's= 6" woofer in each ear

Some people like the bass response of Beats, Skull Candy, and the like. For some genres that sound can be a lot of fun (EDM, rock, hip-hop). For other genres a more accurate (albeit less "bassy") sounding instrument might be preferred which is one reason why many like the sound of more "accurate" (albeit less "bassy") instruments, such as AKG's K701/702, Q701, and K712 (I own the Q701s and K712s). I tend to prefer a slightly more "bassy" presentation but Beats over do it, IMO. ...for what it's worth.

 

[rushmore]

I just like replying so I can put " turribul" in it

 

[missmotta]

My $10 "noise cancelling" Phillips earbuds work better

Actually, after using the larger rubber dealios that came with the headphones they stay in my ears much better and now I really like em. And I have tiny ears! So, yeah. It made all the difference.

 

[missmotta]

A personal update as I started this thread. It would seem its a fit issue rather than sound issue.
Of I gently push them in a bit further creating a better fit, they sound very good indeed, however, the second I let go of them, the sound becomes tinny again.

The smaller buds, I don't even get to the good sound let alone them staying in.

I must have weird ears.

That was also my problem! I've got a collection of those rubber things laying around and found some that make the buds fit into my ears snugly and now they sound great!

 

[rushmore]

The AirPods are a good example for fit as well. They are awful without a good fit, but can sound pretty good with good fit.

 

[wpfan2be]

Hi. Seems you guys are very knowledgeable about headphones so I just have one question. My daughter has several times left headphones in her clothes and they have gone thru a wash cycle. I have thrown them away in the past but down to the last one now. Is it safe to still use them? Any way these could damage the phone? Btw they are the akg that came with the s8. Thanks!

 

[CKwik240]

Hi. Seems you guys are very knowledgeable about headphones so I just have one question. My daughter has several times left headphones in her clothes and they have gone thru a wash cycle. I have thrown them away in the past but down to the last one now. Is it safe to still use them? Any way these could damage the phone? Btw they are the akg that came with the s8. Thanks!

Doubtful they will cause any issues by plugging it in. I am assuming they are dry by the time you do. Chances are any damage would just be corrosion of any exposed metals. And severe corrosion usually leads to an open circuit.

And this is purely speculative, but I would imagine the internals of the headphone jack are designed to prevent damage from shorts.

As an aside, you could just get her a pair of the ugliest cheap over the ear headphones you can find.

 

[wpfan2be]

Thanks. And that's really funny. For sure big over the ears would not go in the wash unnoticed...

 

[smalley84]

They're not so bad if you have a play with the Sound Quality and effects settings in Sounds and Vibration.

Lot of stuff to play with there, and they certainly improve things massively. Also, as other have said, make sure you pick a set of earbuds that sit well in your ear.